Bomb squads sharpen skills in robot rodeo

The Robot Rodeo was held last week at a tech site at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The three-day event offered hours of hands-on training at the controls of $225,000 robots used for bomb and hazardous waste detection and disposal.

Six teams guided robots through 10 challenges, including an obstacle course, simulated attacks, cooperation exercises and activities to test their ability to minutely control the robot, said Chris Ory, a member of Los Alamos lab's hazardous devices team.

Controlling the robot was where pancake-making came into play.

Teams from the state police and Santa Fe Police Department controlled robots while watching video monitors from vehicles parked outside a small building where two judges sat, ready with syrup and butter to taste their pancakes.

Tables on either side of the room held griddles, pancake mix in a pitcher and a spatula. Each team had to mix the batter, then cook four pancakes and bring two plates to the table.

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